Electrically-heated former for rounding the backs of book covers



May 29, 1923. 1,457,108

, A. TROST ELECTRICALLY HEATED FORMER FOR ROUNDING THE BACKS OF BOOK COVERS ed Sept. 1

1920 2 Sheets-Sheet l v nf li r May 29, 1923. 1,457,108 A. TROST ELECTRICALLY HEATED FORMER FOR ROUNDING THE BACKS 0F BOOK COVERS Filed Sept. 1, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedMay 29, 1923.

.U TED sr ILLINOIS.

ADOLPH rnosr, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOIB, To JosEPH J. WHITE, or cmoAeo;

ELECTRIGALLY-HEATED FORMER FOR ROUNDING BACKS OFCBOOK COVERS.

' Application filedSeptember 1, 1920." Serial No. 407,342.

T 0 all 'w/zom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLPH Tnosr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electrically-Heated Formers for Rounding the Backs of Book Covers, of which the following is a. full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings; forming apart of this specification.

The present inventionrelates to electrically heated formers for roundlng the backs of'book covers.

The invention is concerned with the operation of heating and rounding the backs of book covers after the completion of the covers and before they are applied to the book units in the so-called F casing-in 7 operation. To the end that this operation o-f'heating and rounding the backs of thecovers-or cases as they are more technically termed in the book-binding art-shall be automatic and shall not interpose additional and time consuming steps in the cycle of operations involved in thebinding of the book, I have embodied the heating and roundingformer directly in the casing-in machine, and have.

situated the rounding former in the machine whereby the function of heating and rounding the backs of n the covers vis performed without modifying or retardingthe operating cycle of the casing-in machine.

Referring to the specific objects of the invention, one of the particular objects is to provide ail-improved construction of electrically heated rounding former which will be capable of convenient adjustment, whereby it may be readily adaptedto the heating and rounding of various sized book covers having different widths and curvatures of backs. .7

Another object of theinvention is to provide a simple and inexpensive embodiment of electricallyheated former; and one which may be readily adapted as anappliance or attachment to standard constructionsof casing-in machines. 1 i Another object of the invention is to provide a construction of heating and rounding former which may be situated in the bottom of the hopper which receives the book'covers for feeding ton-the, casing-in, mechanism. The particular purpose ofsositu'ating the heating and rounding former is to provide for a maximum time intervalin which to complete the rounding operation, Without slowing down the operationof the casing.- 1n 111%01'11116 01' necessitating an ndividual step or operation for performing this rounding function. The lowermost cover 1n the hopper is always in contactwith the heating and rounding former, the covers successively dropping down upon the'forming devlce as each preceding cover is fed-forwardly from the hopper to the casing-in mechanism, and

each cover: issubit will thus be seen that Jected to the heating and rounding action of the forming device from thetmoment the preceding cover is withdrawn from the hopper until the feeding devices have returned and are Withdrawing the next. succeeding, cover which is. in contact with the rounding, former. The weight of the super-imposed pile of covers in the hopper imposes the necessary pressure upon the lowermost cover to enable it toheating and rounding former. One of "the particular advantages of roundi thebacks of the book covers directly in the casing-in properly co-operate with the I machine is that the rounded curve given to the back 'ofthe cover is retained inbetter form by the practice of immediately applying the cover to the book, before the round has opportunity to become flattened or other-1 wise deformed. v A preferred manner of practicing my invention is illustrated in. the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sec-, tional view through a commercial form of casing-in machine illustrating the application of ourjimproved forming device thereto; Figure 2 is an enlargedrsi'de eleva-tional view of our improved heating and rohiiclingl former, a portion of thecasing away to illustrate the internal arrangement;

Figure 3 is .a plan view of the heating and v rounding former Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through the hopper of themachine. illustrating the manner in which the backsof the book covers are rounded; and n s Figure 5 is an end-'elevationalview of the device illustrating adiiferentrounding form mounted thereon having a wider rounding face. f The construction of 'casing-in "machine being broken i-llustratedin'Figure1, which Ihavechosen merely for the purpose .of illu strating. a

tive relation ofthe present" invention: with the operating cycle thereof, as the general construction of this type of machine is a matter of common knowledge to those skilled in the-art; Theb'ed oaths machine comprises a plurality of parallel guide bars 8, between which slide the feeding bound books. Adjacent the left hand end of the guide bars 8" is erected a hopper or magazine 11 comprising two spaced magazine plates 12 The magazine or hopper 11 is adaptedto receive a pile of completed covers, the covers resting upon theliorizontal guide bars 8 and being maintained invertical alinement by adjustable vertical guide members 14; The feeding fingers 9' are reciprocatd to and 121%); beneath the pile of covers 15 througli the operation of suitable reciprocating rod mechanism, which need-not be specifically described. On the return" stroke to the left the "feeding fingers-which are resiliently in'ounted are depressed upon passing beneath the pile of covers Upon the forward stroke tothe right these feeding fingers engage the lowermost cover. and feed it forwardly out from the bottom of the'pile andtra'nsier it over the unbound book, when the latter is in" its lowered position between the paste boxes 16. The unbound books 17 are opened and placed upon a series of saddle plates 18 which radiate out from a vertical. rotatable cylinder 19. Each saddle plate 18 with the book 17 thereon is revolved into position between two parallel paste boxes 16 and is then lowered between these paste boxes for the application oi paste or other adhesive to the outer leaves of the book. This occurs while the feeding fingers 9 are moving through their return stroke to receive a new cover. When the book is in lowered position the paste boxes 16 close upon it,

-' and at this point the feeding fingers 9 carry forward a new cover and position it directly over thebook. As the book raises under the ascension of the saddle plate 18 paste is ap plied to the outside leaves thereof by the paste rollers 19 and simultaneously therewith the cover isio rced down over the sides of the book. Ghoperating with the series of saddle plates 18 is a i' 'ert'i'call'y reciprocating cross-head 21 which carries theineohanism for folding and jointing the book covers on the book. This cross-head r'e'ciprocates in predetermined relation with each saddle plate 18 in such a manner as to receive each book after the cover has been applied thereto and parent's-(grainO enness on the cover indescription oi? thisfingers' 9 for feeding the rounded covers to the uncidentin shapingandibinding the cover to the book; We do not deem it necessary to gointo detailed explanation of this mechanism asit is all-within the (10111111011- l{1l0flVledge of the art and has no particular refer ence to the present invention.

The torming device' which constitutes the subject matter of the present application is designated 23', and it will be observed that this forming device is situated in the bottom of the hopper 11 between the horizontal guide bars-8. As shown in Figure 43, this rounding former 23' is placed exactly in the center of the hopper 11 to be in alinement with the backs of the covers, and is support-- ed-between' the two innermost guide bars 8-'S- by screws 2 1. The Sill-Llfifliiil l otthe former comprises an' elongated housing 25 ot'rectangular hollow cross-section. The interior of the housing 25- is cored outcy lindrically for the receptiono'f an electric heating element 26; This heating element is preferably a'commercial or stock lieater comprising a plurality of resistance heatingel ements embedded in a suitable body of heat refractory material. Current is sup plied to the heating eleinent26 through electrical conductors 27; which enterthrough an open'ingin the heat refractory endplate 281 which is screwed to the end of the housing 25. The other end of the cylindrical'bore is closed by a plug 29. The, screws 24 which support the rounding former thread into short tapped holes in the sides of the ho'u'sing 26. These screws set into holes extend, ing laterally through the central guide bars 8. By'simply removing these screws the en tire former unit can be drawn downwardly from between the guide bars 8 i The round is produced by an arcuateform 31 which is secured to the top of the housing 25 in position for shaping the back of the covers 15. The rounding form 31 is preferably mounted in such a manner that it may be quickly detached for the substitution of forms having other degrees of curvature, and to this end the form is provided with a slot 32 at one end which engages under the head of a screw 335 and at the other end is provided with a' depending bolt 34 which extends down below the bottom of the housing 25 and lies in a slot 35 inthe end of the housing. Below the housing 25 the bolt fi i receives a wing nut 36, and by tightening this wing nut the form 31 canibe securely held down upon the topof the housing 25. Different forms having different widths and difierent degrees of. curvature, such aS'indi cat'ed at 31 in Figure 5 may be readily substituted for accommodating different styles and sizes of covers by u'nlooseni'ng the wing nut 36 and withdrawing the slotted end 32' from under the screw head 33. The forrn 31 is adapted to he dramr down-uponthe, flat surface of the housing25 under-sufficient receiving a book, as

' rounding form mounted on the face of said housing and ada tension to insure maximum efliciency' of heat conduction from the housing 25 to the form 31. r e I As will be noted from Figure 4, the weightof'the pile of covers 15 firmly presses the lowermost cover down upon the heated form 31 and impresses the desired curvature into the flexible back of the cover. 7 The combined action of heat and weight on v the cover quickly produces the curvature in the flexible back, and immediately thereafter the feeding fingers 9 engage the edge of the cover and feed it forwardly into position for the casing-in operation. The next succeeding cover then drops down upon the heated I form 31 and is in turn heated and rounded and fed forwardly to the casing-in mechanism as above describel.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a rounding former "for rounding the central portion of a book cover into a back, the combination of a housing, an electric cartridge heater 1n said housing, a

upper sursaid magazine to the previously described of and an opening in pted to be.

heated by'said cartridge heater, and screw and slot rounding form to said housing and adapted to permit detachment of said rounding form for the-ready substitution offorms of differe'nt configurations. ,v 2; In a casing-in machine, the combination of-a magazine for receivingthe book 7 covers, means for feeding the covers from and anelectrically'heated rounding former in the bottom ofsaid magazine for rounding the backs of said coversbefore'feeding the same to said casing-in mechanism," said the book covers,

said form can be conveniently oADOLPH TROSTQ fastening meansffor securing said casing-in mechanism, 

